


Love Beyond Life

by Ceridawn



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, I guess I should tag that?, Nobody dies here, also tauriel is totally a feanorian, but that is fine, death does not really mean much here, lots of people are already dead, might create some awkwardness in the future though, not that she will ever think of herself that way, though the whole premise is them being dead from the start
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26364190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceridawn/pseuds/Ceridawn
Summary: Love can be stronger than death, gods, and gods of death. Especially if it has some stubbornness to help it out.
Relationships: Kíli (Tolkien)/Tauriel (Hobbit Movies)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	Love Beyond Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starlightwalking](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/gifts).



> I have never actually read the Hobbit, so please forgive any errors. Happy Birthday to starlightwalking! Everyone should go check out their fics!

Once upon a time, there was an elf. He was very smart and could create things like no others. He was also very proud and could be very foolish. I could spend years telling you stories of him. But he is not what this story is about. No, for this story he is important for two reasons. One is that he had many sons. The other is that he led the Noldor back to Middle Earth.

Once upon a time, there was an Elven Lord. He was the middlemost of all his brothers, the fourth son out of seven. His life was long and he did many things, including falling in love with a mortal woman of great spirit. But this is not their story.

Once upon a time, there was a half-elven child. Their parents loved them very much, but they were born in a time of chaos. They found themselves with a group of Silvan elves. In the end, they chose an elven life. They married and had children. Their greatest secret was their parentage, a secret that never left their lips. Their story was full of sorrow and joy both. But this story does not belong to them.

Once upon a time, there was an elven maid with crimson hair. Of course, said everyone, it came from the human blood in her. Where else could it come from? She was skilled with knife and bow, she served her king well, and she was a loyal friend to her prince. This is her story. Hers and the story of her dwarven prince. He was of raven hair and had laughter in his heart. He came with his brother and uncle on a mission and met her then. And then he died.

This story, you see, is not about their lives. No, it is about what comes later on. This is a story of the after life.

~~~~~~~

Kíli wiped the sweat from his brow, taking a small break from the forge. Having plenty of material was nice, there was less worry than what he had seen growing up. Of course, it would really suck if they had to worry about rationing materials even after they were dead. Especially since there was not a whole lot to do here other than craft.

Don't get him wrong, it was great to get to spend time with his family. But it could also be hard at times. Everyone else knew that those they loved were already here or would come to the Halls eventually. Everyone but him. Because Elves did not come here, they dwelt in other Halls. So he was unlikely to see Tauriel again before the end of the world.

So when the happiness of everyone else became too much, he came here. This forge was smaller than most, but it was fairly private. Here he could work until most of the sadness had passed and he could once again be pleasant company. It was a system that worked well enough, even if her knew it left some of the others worried. 

At least he was a far better smith now than he had ever been when he was alive.

He was taking a drink when a hand on his shoulder startled him. His reflexes had not deserted him in death and a fist was swinging even as he turned around. A slender hand closed around his wrist long before his fist had any chance of connecting, but that is not what stopped him.

No, it was the sight of her. Standing taller than him, red hair unbound. She was dressed like he had never seen her while alive or in any of his dreams. A fine cloak, covered in intricate patterns of gems, covered her shoulders. There was a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

"Kíli . Is that any way to say hello after so long?"

He shook his head, disbelieving. He must have worked himself to exhaustion without realizing it. At least this dream seemed like it would be one of the more pleasant ones, though those sometimes left the worst ache when he awoke.

"Hello, my lady. It is always nice when you visit. I have made a new bracelet for you. Would you like to see it?" It was his dream, surely some of what he had crafted would be present here.

"Visit? Kíli , this is the first time I have come here." Her voice sounded confused. That happened sometimes. Dreams were not consistent things, shown by the new clothes she was wearing.

"You haven't? Alright then. I won't waste our time together arguing about it."

"Kili, you love bickering with me. We may not have had long together, but I remember that very clearly."

"I wouldn't want to turn this into a nightmare." Or make it too realistic. The more real it seemed, the more it would hurt when it was over.

"A nightmare..." A strange look passed over her face, before she leaned in to kiss him. 

And then she bit him.

"Ow!" He pulled his head away with a jerk, bringing his fingers up to his bleeding lip. "You bit me!"

"Yes I did. And now you can not say this is a dream." That was right. Dreams did not hurt physically. Which meant, somehow, she was really here.

He threw his arms around her, unashamed of the tears he felt running down his face. 

~~~~~~

Tauriel thought maybe 20 minutes had passed since Kíli had realized this was not all some dream and hugged her. She couldn't be completely sure, they had both been sobbing together for a while there. But twenty minutes seemed about right and she trusted her internal clock. Not that it mattered too much, when she did not know how much time they had.

Except that she had better tell him at least the basics. Just vanishing on him, especially since she had already had to clear up once that he was not dreaming, would be cruel. She did not want to do it to him.

Maybe once things were a bit more settled and they had the timing down. She was pretty sure that he would appreciate a few minor pranks.

But not now. So reluctantly, she pulled away. "Kíli , we need to talk."

He looked confused and a bit hurt. "Now? But it has been so long. I would rather just be with you for a while."

"This can't wait. Kíli , I don't know how long I will be able to stay."

"What!" Panic was written all across his face. "Why?"

"This cloak let me come here for a time, but eventually it will run out of energy. And my spirit will return to where all elven spirits must go."

He seemed to be examining the cloak for a moment, before his next question came. "Where did it come from? And can we recharge it, so you don't have to leave?"

She shook her head sadly. "I am sorry, but I know of no way to recharge it while I am here. I don't really understands how it works myself."

"And where it comes from is a rather long tale, one I would rather save for another time. Let's just say I found some rather unexpected family in the Halls and they wanted to help out. The whole story can wait for after we have got to spend some more time getting to know each other."

Long story was probably selling it a bit short. Finding out that her red hair did not in fact come from her human heritage but was actually a sign that she was related to probably the most infamous family of Elves in all of history had been messy. There was lots of yelling involved. Lots of hurt feelings. A few friends that were no longer willing to speak to her after they had found out.

But her grandfather, and what a strange thought that was still, was no less stubborn than the tales indicated. The same could be said for his father as well. And his brothers. They kept trying. Were still trying even now. The cloak that brought her here was evidence enough of that.

She would have to thank them, when she got back.

"Will you be able to come back?" He was clutching her hand now. Not tightly enough to hurt, but firmly. Like he could keep her here with willpower and that grip alone.

"Oh yes. I can't guarantee when, but I will always find a way back to you." She meant that. With every part of her, she meant that.

"Okay. Then everything else can wait."

This time, he was the one that kissed her.

~~~~  
Once upon a time, there was an dwarven prince and an elven maid. They loved each other. And they died, before their love had a chance to truly bloom. But love is not easily stopped once it takes root. Not by gods or death or any other force. Love finds a way. This time it got help from a different kind of love, that of a family broken long ago trying to fix itself. And maybe one day it will. Love, as proved in this story, is nearly impossible to stop.

They did not _live_ happily ever after. But they were happy nonetheless, in the end. 


End file.
